Wales Rally GB gets extended government backing, is it enough?

There are several WRC events in line for an execution – one of them is, more or less, set to go if the WRC is about to introduce a new event to its calendar. According to some sources, and promoters themselves, Wales Rally GB was one of those events – by ditching GB we would get an empty spot for China to fill. Perhaps Wales Rally GB is still on that list, but today’s news are encouraging for this event’s future.

Welsh Government will support and fund the event for three more years. If we consider funding to be one of the key elements for any event’s future, we should be able to assume Wales Rally GB did their job and should remain in the calendar. But even though funding news are nice and a reason for optimism, perhaps promoters are looking beyond (just) that? Well, maybe they are, but unless we’re dealing with 13 events with fully functional funding schemes, there is still room for changes and improvement. For example, the chief example is Rallye de France – they scrapped the cash for 2015 somehow, but will Tour de Corse survive into 2016 is hard to guess. For now, we haven’t heard much about their long-term plans.

If France ends up securing their own money deal, promoters will have to look beyond cash in order to find one event to remove from calendar (if that’s how things must go, that is). Some critics say that, in its current format, Wales Rally GB is “just another identikit WRC event”, bearing “no resemblance to the glorious RAC rally of the past”.

If only we could stop measuring events by their financial strength and look into sporting side of it. Or would that just produce even more problems? Because if sporting and driving appeal and quality are only criteria, why the hell Rally New Zealand isn’t in the calendar?

Wales Rally GB press release follows:

International Motor Sports (IMS) Ltd is delighted to confirm that it has reached agreement with the Welsh Government to continue its support of Wales Rally GB until the end of 2018.

The UK’s round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) has been branded Wales Rally GB since the Welsh Government became principal funding partner in 2003. Now, a new deal will extend this successful partnership for an additional three years making it one of the longest running title affiliations in British sport.

Ben Taylor, Managing Director of IMS, said: “We are delighted to have agreed a new deal with the Welsh Government whose support has been critical to the long standing success of Wales Rally GB. Their forward thinking strategy allows our event to deliver around £10m of economic value to the Welsh economy in addition to a world-class event that brings business, tourism and many other commercial benefits to the country. The move to north Wales has been a great success in recent years; we can now look forward to building on that platform and implementing exciting new plans to grow the event still further. The Welsh Government’s extended support for this international event is fantastic news not only for rallying in Wales but also for the motor sport sector in the UK.”

The Economy Minister, Edwina Hart, said: “I’m pleased that we can announce an extension to our successful partnership with IMS to support the Wales Rally GB for a further three years. This world class event continues to go from strength to strength and has developed a strong profile on the World Rally Championship calendar.

“Developments such as the Rallyfest stages have proved invaluable in appealing to a wider audience, making the sport more open and accessible to all, attracting more visitors and bringing additional economic benefits as a result.

“The Rally provides an ideal platform for Wales to showcase its wide range of capabilities, including its spectacular sceneries, Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Industries and its ability to successfully deliver world-class major events. With the funding now in place, we can look forward to an even greater event in 2016.”

Wales Rally GB is the highlight of the UK rallying calendar and is renowned around the globe as one of the most famous and challenging in the WRC. It’s one of only two events that have remained a permanent fixture since the WRC’s inception in 1973 and the timed competitive special stages set in the legendary Welsh forests are acclaimed as some of the world’s finest.

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France already has the Monte, so I would imagine that the WRC would be more willing to drop Corsica instead of Wales Rally GB. Also, we have heard all the noise Citroen is making about China, but what would Ford M-sport do if Rally GB was dropped off the calendar?

Alex Langheck

M-Sport would be disappointed, but they have other bigger programmes, I;e the Bentley GT3. I doubt RallyGB has much impact on Ford car sales, the event is virtually ignored by mainstream media.

Enzo Gaming

I still hope France is going to be dropped. If Corsica is just a stripped down version of former (glory) days, it’s not as exciting as it was and Rally Alsace is just another Rally Germany. I’m very courious about China though. But dropping the Wales Rally would be a big loss for WRC in my opinion.

Alex Langheck

RallyGB has to rely on Welsh government ‘hand outs’ as it can’t attract a proper commercial sponsor! Why? Because the event & sport are invisible in the UK. Why don’t Vodafone, Currys, Aviva, etc want to sponsor.
The former rallying heartlands of Yorkshire, Scotland & Kielder have been abandoned, all for a huge wedge of Welsh cash. It’s simply more short termism.

RallyGB should be rotated every 3 years, rather than staying in the same place every year. Hardly trying to grow the sport, is it?

Compare to the Tour of Britain cycle race; they know 7/8 days isn’t enough to cover the whole of the UK, so they try to cover each region over a 3 year period, meaning it’s possible to watch at least once every 3 years.

And guess what? Which sport is growing & thriving and gaining exposure to the general media? Answer: it isn’t rallying.

wrblog

I must admit I was not aware of the lack of media coverage, especially since I always perceived Britain as a very rally oriented country. But when you step out of your little circle of rally friends, you realize how big the world of sports really is and how small and isolated rallying still is in this world. There is still plenty of room for WRC to grow but I, for one, often forget just how much room. Loads! Especially in mainstream media, as you said.

How did they secure the government support with no media coverage? Is WRC bringing so much to Welsh economy on its own, no further promotion and presence in media needed?

Alex Langheck

Good question, but remember, it’s not the UK government funding the event, it’s the Welsh Assembly; which is why it stays entirely in Wales.
The local media will obviously cover the event, but the national media give very little coverage; remember, during the RAC era it used to get huge coverage on national TV, Radio, newspapers. I think it’s now viewed as basically a Welsh event, rather than a British or International event.
A lot of sports, especially minority or ‘niche’ try to include London, as that ‘sells an event’.

wrblog

Good points. I often wonder what would it take for WRC to win back some of that immense coverage and support it enjoyed in the old days – I cannot but hope that things promoters do are heading in that direction, but is it enough and will it get us there is hard to say.

TrueColours

I think it’s making a comeback. We’re starting to get good coverage on satellite and decent coverage on terrestrial. I haven’t really watched rally since Loeb started dominating it, nothing against Loeb. I think what is needed most to bring WRC mainstream attention is a healthy competition/rivalry between the drivers and more teams/cars. It’s the human ‘sport’ element to it. Need to back it up with access on a morning to see and hear the cars and drivers, help strengthen the connection.